Communication
by raven2547
Summary: Two men struggle to communicate in a language the other can understand. kind of ooc and really heavy on emotional talk. Apha/Omega AU


**MUST READ TO UNDERSTAND. Wes and Travis are in an established, living together, multiple year marriage-partnership deal. The world is divided into three types of people: alphas, omegas, and betas where everyone has equal rights (because I cannot even begin to think that one of the boys would stand for being treated like shit XD). Travis is the alpha, Wes is the omega. Everyone else's affiliations will become clear in the story. **

**They also have slight sub categories in physical and emotional. What I mean by that is say if you have an emotional omega, they like to be told they are loved and like to cuddle and is submissive. If you have a physical alpha, they are dominant and like to show their love through touching and actions and kind of struggle with words and emotional declarations. Both subcategories like to receive affection in the same way they give it, which can cause problems if you are not careful.**

**Fill for the meme again :) really hope OP likes.**

**If anyone is confused, drop me a line and I shall help you or try to make this clearer :) **

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Joining the therapy group had been a big step for them, or so Travis thought. Privately, away from prying eyes and his partner's knowing gaze, Wes thought that it was possibly causing more problems. Everyone in the group seemed to think that they were the most mismatched pair and couldn't fathom how they'd gotten together in the first place—not to mention they always picked and poked at everything Wes said in every session they'd attended thus far.

Not helping.

Their fellow couples included the old pair, Patrick (alpha) and Amelia (omega), who still allowed one of their children to live in their house and argued over money troubles; Rozelle and her omega, Clyde, who hated each other's parents for ridiculous reasons; and the two betas who had fallen in love: Dakota and Peter. The presiding Dr. Ryan herself was a beta. It was all _just wonderful._

They all adored his Travis, obviously. It wasn't usually a problem but today it just grated on his nerves like no other. Everything did today, though, so he wasn't really surprised. The way his shirt scratched over his skin this morning, the sound his wheelie chair made when scooting it away from his desk at the precinct, and even the way Clyde was breathing slightly louder than usual (at least to him) was annoying the piss out of him.

The discussion today was about everyone's preferences. A nice way of saying if you were handsy or sappy. They circled around, going past the other couples. Both of the old people were physical, he was slightly surprised, but Clyde was physical where Rozelle was an emotional alpha which was kind of rare. They were probably there or the same reason that Wes and Travis were—lack of communication. The cutesy couple had both emotional betas and made big eyes at each other after saying so.

"I'm of the carnal nature myself, doc, but Wes here is a big bucket of love," Travis chimed in before Wes could tell them. Yes, Wes was an emotional omega and Travis was a physical alpha. Not rare individuals at all, really. Quite common when put into the big scheme of things. It was the two of them together that made them odd. Rozelle and Clyde were in the same boat. If one partner were of a different preference then it made it a little more difficult to talk to one another.

"It is quite common to be an emotional omega, Wes, no need to look so put out," Dr. Ryan added in before the two could start arguing.

"I'm aware it's common," was all he said in return, leaning back in his chair to cross his arms.

The meeting went on for a while and finally came to a close after another brief homework assignment:  
do something with your partner the other wouldn't expect. Wes had no doubts that Travis would be dragging him to a jazz bar or something to 'surprise' him, but he would have to brainstorm before bed tonight. Clever doctor, Wes thought, I actually have to try on this one.

They stacked their chairs, but just before leaving Ryan hailed them.

"Boys, don't forget I'll be observing you tomorrow. You just joined and I asked the captain when an acceptable viewing time might be and he said that your days off together are tomorrow. I shall see you bright an early, hmm?" she asked.

"By bright an early, we know you mean 11 o'clock, right? We usually," he waggled his eyes around suggestively, "in the morning on the weekends." If Travis could have just come out and said they were terribly lazy on Saturdays and didn't want to move then the next sequence of events could have been avoided. Everyone looked at them with either amused or grossed out expressions. Wes couldn't blame them. He was bright red and sputtering to cover that remark up.

"I shall arrive at 10 o'clock sharp, gentlemen. Not a hair later," she smiled and everyone quieted and left as the yoga group invaded the room again.

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At home, the dark haired one of the pair immediately headed into the laundry room and threw in a new wash. Very suspicious behavior which might have been overlooked if he hadn't proceeded to the kitchen and cleaned it, put away the dishes, and then started on another load in the washer. The blonde had on his 'what the fuck' face when he came in from the backyard. They had a dandelion infestation in progress and he was on the front lines with weed killer.

The pristine kitchen and living room complete with shirtless Travis almost made for a perfect evening.

"What did you do?" Wes put his hands on his hips and gave his best stern look at his partner, who didn't even flinch.

"My homework," he winked at Wes and kissed him, leaning in and putting his hands on his rib cage and lower back to bring him in closer. The omega sighed and leaned in, prepared for a less than restful night.

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True to her word, Emma arrived on scene at ten exactly while Wes was in the shower. Travis let her in and they waited. He at least had the presence of mind to offer her something to drink before sitting on the sofa and she in the armchair.

Wes was downstairs five minutes later, "Travis, I've told you a thousand times not to leave your toothbrush… hello Doctor," Travis was delighted to see his mate get that pretty pink color in his cheeks. He was probably embarrassed about being late when he was the one hosting the get together.

The two exchanged greetings and Wes sat next to Travis so their legs were touching. The alpha's arm went around the back of the loveseat behind his partner. _Love_seat indeed, he chuckled to himself and got an elbow to the stomach or his trouble.

"As I was saying," Emma continued, "I am just here to observe, not referee any arguments or answer any questions. Just go about your day as if it was normal and I was invisible."

"Can-do, doc, can-do," he sent her a mega-watt smile and leaned over to give his husband a kiss. Invisible or not, in their own house or not, Wes didn't like any PDA and turned his head so Travis hit his cheek with the kiss. Just to spite him, the man-child gave him a slimy lick on his cheek. Ferocious scrubbing with a throw pillow and a solid hit to the arm were gifted to him.

They tried to ignore her at first. Really, they did. She was just sitting there and _watching_ though. The worst part was that neither boy knew just what she was watching for so they ended up having to actually act normal instead of textbook-perfect like they'd planned.

Wes went around the house with a duster looking for cobwebs that might have accumulated in the high corners of the ceiling. He didn't find any, but he did find a strange hole in the plaster near the top of the staircase that he deemed needed fixing. They discussed it in the entryway while Wes searched for his caulking gun.

"Man, it's probably just from the last people who lived here who hung a picture there or something. It's as big as a baby's pinky nail."

"Don't care. You might like holes in the wall, but I don't. Where the hell is my gun?"

"Well I don't know how you misplaced something that important, but mine is locked and loaded," Travis winked lewdly and then even he blushed when he remembered their guest who was listening about fifteen feet away. He mouthed 'sorry' at his appalled mate and shrugged apologetically.

"I can't find it," the blonde sighed in frustration. Eager to get out of the house, Travis volunteered to get a new gun from the store. Wes agreed solely because he wanted to mow the lawn before it got to be insufferably hot. They stood in the doorway while the therapist watched quietly. Wes made sure to hug his alpha and initiated a kiss; both were gladly returned by the other.

Emma watched, a little disappointed when Travis rushed out of their awkward house with a wave while Wes halted his partially formed, "Love yo—" and the door shut. He stood alone in the entryway for a minute, pursed his lips, sighed kind of dejectedly and shuffled around to the back door.

"I don't want to leave you in here with no company, so do you want to come outside and talk or something while I tend to the lawn?" he turned to her and gave her a questioning look. She nodded, made a few more notes, and followed him. She took her tea and sat in a wicker chair while he started chucking sticks onto their cement walkway to be picked up later. Emma wondered where all the sticks came from until she opened her eyes a little more and saw beyond the high privacy fences on three sides, their neighbors all had at least one to three tall trees or hedges lining their sides of the fences. It must have driven Wesley crazy to have to pick up sticks every few days, but it did cast a nice cooling shade over his property.

Ryan watched him mow the lawn and trim a few bushes, throwing the waste into a compost heap, before Travis came in through the gate to the back yard. He tossed the gun to his mate and practically tackled him into a pile of grass and hedge debris. He obviously hadn't seen her yet because he was currently mauling the blonde while Wes struggled out from under him and tried to run away from the hyperactive man-child.

Travis reached out a hand and tried to snag him, tripping Wes a little but otherwise not damaging his retreat. Wes threw sticks and small branches of bush at Travis but had to resort to handfuls of grass when it was clear they weren't slowing down the guy.

"Travis, stop i-!" Wes shouted before he was thrown over the smiling man's shoulder with an 'oof'. Travis finally noticed her and froze slightly while Wes still ranted in the background.

"Hello, doctor. I thought you might still be inside from this heat…" he grinned impishly at her while his partner squirmed on his shoulder.

Emma quirked her eyebrow and wrote down some more notes while the two continued their fight after Wesley freed himself from the evil clutches of Sir Handsy.

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The next therapy session was about preferences, again. Everyone would much rather get back to drawing trees.

"Today we're going to talk about cues from our partners and taking care of their needs. For those of you who share preferences with your mate, I know interpreting those cues is sometimes easier and having your cues interpreted correctly is more easily done, so we're going to start with Rozelle. Clyde is physical whereas she is emotional. Do you believe you satisfy his needs for physicality?" Dr. Ryan started them off.

"I think I try my best… we touch a lot and I try to make sure that I use my actions to show him how much I love him instead of telling him all the time like you told me to," Clyde was nodding along to her and smiling, adding in how she and him interacted quite often.

After words with everyone but the resident same-sex couple, she finally got around to Travis and Wes.

"Wes, after observing you and Travis I believe that there is an issue we need to address. Don't look so frightened, Wes, everyone here had to have their sessions come to light as well," true to form, everyone nodded along with her.

"As I was saying, I noticed that while you both touch enough to satisfy Travis's physical preference, many times Wes's emotional preference was overlooked or overshadowed by a physical one. This leads me to ask you, Wes, how you feel about the level of emotional investment Travis has in this relationship," she cut right to the quick with that one, she knew, but even Wes wincing at the slight to his partner kept her on track. Instead of irritated or insulted, though, Travis looked thoughtful and a little guilty. Good, it meant he wasn't adverse to growth.

The blonde shifted his eyes around the room, thinking over his words before saying tightly and slowly, "I know in my head that Travis loves me."

His partner turned to look at him very slowly and blinked at him.

"But sometimes I don't feel that way…" done, he turned his face away from his mate's wide, guilty eyes.

"Good, Wes. You've drawn a clear line between intellectual and emotional mentalities. Travis," she turned her focus, "while visiting you two yesterday, I noticed that many times you deflected Wes's attempts at communication."

Travis just shook his head and looked back at Wes, who was looking at the floor determinedly, "Ah, Wes. Why didn't you tell me you wanted me to say that I love you more? You know I do…"

"I know that. I said it just doesn't feel like it sometimes, is all. You never respond when I tell you I love you. You just kiss me or hug me or something to show me." Wesley sounded a little petulant with that last part, like a child who knows they're being distracted by a toy so they won't be sad at missing the trip to Disney World.

"But I _do_ love you. I thought showing was good enough… you told me you didn't have a problem with it when we got together. Has it been festering since then? You bottle everything up and then explode. If we hadn't talked about it today, would you have left me one day because of that?" Travis looked so insecure and wounded at just the thought of his mate leaving him, so Wes grabbed his hand and held on.

"No! I'd never… I… I don't know anymore." He sounded tired suddenly and the session was interrupted by the yoga class coming in five minutes early.

Quickly Dr. Ryan said, "We'll put a pin in that and talk about it next week guys, good work today you two."

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Outside the building in the alley by the parking lot, Wes and Travis were standing a little ways apart. Travis refused to touch or be touched by Wes until they talked about this. He didn't want to make it seem like he was looking for reassurance because he wasn't the one who needed it, Wes did.

"Baby, I _love the hell _out of you. You gotta believe me," he said imploringly, "If I ever made you doubt that when I didn't say it back, I'm so sorry. I never meant to ignore you like that."

"its fine, Trav—"

"It's _not_ fine, Wes! I made you think I didn't love you just because I can't say it back. That's not right. I should be able to take care of you like you do me. It's not fair to you to need something from me and it's not fair to me to not know you need it so I can give it. I'm fully capable of telling you, sharing with you."

"I-I know you are, Travis. I know you love me, it's just… this is the most you've ever said it in the six years we've been together. I think you said it when you proposed and when we got married… but rarely since. And we never just sit and talk like we used to. We used to sit down every day after work and just talk about our day before things got physical. I just feel a little affection starved, I guess. I can't really explain it. Especially to you."

"What do you mean, 'especially to me'?"

"You're physical in nature. It just wouldn't make sense to you. If I had to explain it—"

"You do."

"Shut up. Ok. It's like if every day we came home and we'd sit down at different ends of the couch, talked for a bit, and then went to bed in separate rooms. No kissing, no wrestling, no hugging for days or weeks."

Travis looked a little sickened by the thought that he'd done that to his lover. He couldn't stay apart from him any longer and stepped towards him, enveloping him in a tight hug. His mate had been nearly isolated by the one who was supposed to care for him unconditionally. He felt terrible.

Kissing Wes, wrapping his arms tighter and in a more encompassing way, he tried to communicate all his apologies though the touches. He pulled away when he realized that was what he'd been doing this whole time and what had gotten them into this mess in the first place.

He held Wes's face in his hands and looked into his too-blue eyes, a deeper blue than usual due to the emotions he was experiencing no doubt.

"I love you. I'm sorry I hurt you, so sorry. Please talk to me next time. I hate hurting you. I love you," he stared into his mate's eyes while he said this. Then Wes smiled and kissed him and he knew everything was going to be alright.

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**Totally broke my word count record for a oneshot. All the way to 3000! Kind of proud of this one, I think its a little OOC, but most schmoops are. This definitely ended up more emotional and schmoopy than I intended—especially because I'm terrible with emotions myself. I've been told more than once that I speak in a monotone with no inflection whatsoever.**

**Also, I still don't know anyone's names from that group therapy thing xD I'm awful. So I made them up except for Clyde and Dakota. **

**Drop me a review or fav/follow if you liked :) **


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